Pawson a shining example of grassroots development

If you ask the North Bay Jr. A Trappers to describe their prototype for cultivating local hockey talent, one name isn't far from their collective lips.

Scott Pawson.

The 17-year-old NOJHL rookie is quickly becoming one of the bright spots night in, night out on a team that has struggled to find consistency so far this season. After averaging over a point per game with the midget AAA Trappers last season, Pawson has seven goals and seven assists for 14 points, good for seventh in team scoring, in 28 junior A games.

"Creating offence, that's what I like doing, and being a pest out there too," said the five-foot-nine, 155 pound forward who counts Sidney Crosby and Joe Sakic among his hockey influences.

But the Corbeil resident says it's his dad, Kelly, and their many 6 a.m. practice sessions starting early in his career that got him to this level.

"It all started just on outdoor rinks," said the Grade 12 West Ferris Secondary School student.

"We would just rent the ice and he would take me out and we would just work on anything that we felt that I needed some work on."

Kelly, a police officer with over 20 years service with London city and Ontario Provincial Police, says he recognized Scott had something special around age six, but remembers those practices came primarily at his son's urging.

"Those...were all because of Scott and how much he loved the game," he said.

Kelly says he and wife Pat, while happy with Scott's on-ice progress this year, are most pleased with his commitment to his schooling.

"He understands that his education comes first and that's something that my wife and I are really proud of."

The elevation in Pawson's Junior A game became evident about six weeks into the season -- and he says it's directly linked to his belief in his own ability.

"I just realized you know I can skate with these guys, it was just gonna be a matter of getting confident and letting my other skills take over," said Pawson, who credits support from family, friends and teammates for helping fuel his rapid growth.

"I just kept going hard, just show up to the rink, shut my mouth and do my job and learn," he said.

Since the beginning of the season, Pawson has gone from fourth-line minutes to the second line and is also taking on a number of key specialty roles.

"He's doing a good job on the point, on the back end on the power play and he's getting 4-on-4, some PK, so I mean it's good to see him get rewarded with some points and some ice time for his hard work," said Trappers GM and head coach Ian Swalucynski.

"We're glad to have him, hopefully he can improve even more in the second half," Swalucynski said.

New Trappers president Chris Dawson hopes Pawson is the start of a future trend for the club.

"He's almost like the poster boy for what our organization wants to see," said Dawson.

"We're hoping that a guy like Scott Pawson can be a guy that everybody looks at and say look at this success story, he went and played the grassroots...all the way up."

Dawson is aware of past criticisms the junior A team hasn't had enough local content -- and of instances where local players didn't want to play here. He believes, however, the recent mending of a rift between the local junior and midget clubs was a "huge step forward" toward eliminating that kind of animosity.

"We're a new group, we have sort of a new image we're trying to create," Dawson said.

"Eventually down the road we want to have a North Bay team that is built very similar to the Soo Thunderbirds where... we have 12 or 13 players from North Bay."

There's no doubt Pawson feels at home in northern Ontario -- you need only ask him what he does away from hockey living on Lake Nosbonsing.

"Mostly just ice fishing or snowmobiling, that's probably the only thing anybody can do out there," he chuckled.

Pawson's eventual goal is to earn himself an NCAA scholarship, and hopes his good hands can one day be useful in a field apart from hockey.

"Health sciences...I want to be a doctor," Pawson said.

"I'd like to try to pay back some of my parents for the money they've put into me for hockey," he added.

For now, the Trappers are hoping those hands will put a few more pucks in net this season and beyond.

"I see down the road him being a guy...who's not going to have an issue scoring 70 or 80 points in junior hockey," Dawson said.

Still, Pawson knows there's much more work ahead separating him and his goals.

"I'd still like to get stronger, and even faster and quicker," he said.

"That's only going to help me."